Illuminatable crystal assembly

ABSTRACT

A crystal assembly carrying a lamp, a battery and a switch; the crystal assembly being placeable over a dial and by actuating the switch the lamp is lighted to illuminate the dial.

[ Aug. 21, 1973 United States Patent 1 Stone et al.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1 ILLUMINATABLE CRYSTAL ASSEMBLY [75] Inventors: Wilfred S. Stone, Wayne;

Robert L. Walker, Saint Charles, 3,018,614 1/1962 both of Ill. 3,224,184 12/1965 Brien..........,.... V r 3,377,476 4/1968 Milam et [73] Assignee: Wilfred S. Stone, Wayne, Ill.

[22] Filed: Mar. 18 1971 Primary Examiner-Louis J. Capozi [21] Appl. No.: 125,543

Attorney-Stone, Zummer & Aube] [57] ABSTRACT A crystal assembly carrying a lamp, a battery and a [52] US. 240/6.43, 58/23 B, 58/50 [51] Int. Cl. G041) 19/30 Switch; the rystal assembly being placeable over a dial [58] Field of Search 58/50 R, 23 B, 23 A; and by actuating the switch the lamp is lighted to illu- 240/643, 42, 6.45, 2, 2.1, 4.2, 6.4, 8.16; ate the dial.

1 16/129, 129 L, 124.4, DIG. 16 6 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures Patented Aug. 21, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet.l

' @1' W red ILLUMINATABLE CRYSTAL ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention concerns a crystal assembly for providing sporadic illumination to an associated dial. It is concerned with adequately illuminating a dial which need be illuminated only occasionally, such as for example, clocks, primarily mechanical clocks, which a person may want to view only momentarily two or three times a night. The invention is also useful in other fields such as for gas, electric and water meters located, for example, in a basement at a point where the basement light does not shed sufficient illumination to make the meter dial readable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention comprises a crystal assembly including a lamp, a battery and a switch mounted on a crystal in front of and spaced from a dial. In one embodiment of the invention a crystal, with all of the equipment mounted on the inside of the crystal, is assembled as a throw-away item and discarded when the battery runs down. In a second embodiment, the battery, bulb and switch are mounted on a separate frame which is fixedly or removably mounted on the crystal.

DESCRIPTIONIOF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a face view of a mechanically wound alarm clock with an illuminatable crystal, in accordance with the invention, mounted on its face;

FIG. 2 is a view taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 2 taken on an angled line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3 and 4; and

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 present a second embodiment of the invention and show the elements similar to those shown in FIGS. 1 through 5, but mounted on a frame which frame is then mounted on the crystal;

FIG. 6 is an inside elevation similar to FIG. 2, but with an embodiment having only one battery; and

FIG. 8 is an end elevation taken on the line 88 of FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional alarm clock 10 is shown consisting of a case orvcasing 12, abase 14, a dial 18, an alarm set hand 20, a minute hand 24, and an hour hand 22.

Referring now also to FIGS; 2, 3, 4 and 5, a first em bodiment of the present invention consists of a readily removable crystal 16. Crystal 16 has a peripheral flange 17, see FIG. '2, whose outwardly directed edge lies in a common plane 19. Crystal 16 is preferably made of acrylic, lucite, or other suitable transparent plastic,

the batteries 30, 32 and 34 are conventionally mounted in relatively reverse orientation in order to shorten the connector wires 36 and 38.

It will be readily appreciated that in lieu of a plurality of batteries a single battery to power a suitable lamp may be used depending on the brightness of the illumination desired.

The outer electrode of the battery 30 is positioned against a resilient conductive strip 52 to make electrical contact therewith. Conductive strip 52 is anchored against the inside wall of the crystal at 54 and bent, as indicated, to act as a stationary arm 56 of a switch 60. A plastic disc 62 carrying a finger press button 64 is positioned in an opening 66 in the crystal 16 to extend outwardly from the external surface of the crystal. The outwardly extending tip of button 64 carries a phosphorescent material 63, which, as is known, will glow in the dark to permit the user to quickly find button 64. A thin plastic coating is formed over the material 63 to reduce wear.

The movable contact arm 58, or switch 60 is one end, or part of, an electrically conductive strip 68 which is anchored at its other end 70 to the inside wall of the crystal 16. The spring tension of arm 58 biases arm 58 away from the stationary arm 56.

Fastened to thestrip near 70 isan electrical conductor 72, which also is bendable but comparatively stiff. This conductor 72 is attached to one electrical lead 74 of the lamp 50. The lamp 50 is supported in fixed position by the two comparatively stiff electrical conductors 46 and72. One electrode (i.e., the center electrode post) of battery 34 is connected by a conductor 46 to the other electrical lead 48 of the lamp 50 to complete the electrical path from the batteries 30, 32 and 34 to lamp 50, when switch 60 is closed.

As indicated above, the button 64 is pressed from a point externally of the crystal, to close the circuit through the switch 60 to thereby light the lamp 50. The resilience of strip 58 returns switch 60 to its off or open position when button 64 is released.

All the elements of the lamp are located on the inside of the crystal 1-6 and as constructed, it is a throw-away item. However, as mentioned above, the batteries are used only momentarily and sporadically; hence they will last, or be operable, for a long time.

Referring now to FIGS. 6-8 wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements in FIG; 1-5, a second embodiment of the invention is shown having a flat rectangularly shaped frame or base 80, preferably of plastic which is conformed to the-inside configuration which can be slightly over dimensioned, so that it can be snapped into place in case 12, as at 26, and which can be snapped out with the aid of a screwdriver inserted between the rim of the crystal 16 and the bezel 28 of the case as at 29. g

In the embodiment, three 1 36 volt batteries 30, 32 and 34 are connected in series by conductors 36 and 38 to provide power to a 4 :6 volt lamp 50. These three batteries are mounted in recesses 40, 42 and 44 formed in the crystal 16, and are adhered therein as by an epoxy cement. Note that in the embodiments shown of the associated crystal, such ascrystal 16 of FIGS. l-5, so that frame'80 may be mounted either permanently or removably against the inside surface of the crystal. These two embodiments of FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 en"- able the entire lamp assembly including the batteries to first be assembled on the frame without interference with'or from the crystal. After assembly of the various components on frame 80, the frame is removably mounted to the inside of the crystal as by suitable small screws, or by gluing, so that the button 64 willregister with the opening 66'asshown in FIG; 4. Accordingly, the associatedcrystal need not necessarily be thrown away when replacement of the batteries or lamp is required, but rather the frame 80 and the entire lamp assembly can be removed from the crystal and a new frame mounted on the crystal.

In FIG. 7, an illuminatable crystal assembly generally indicated by the numeral 82 is shown which has a single lamp 84 and a single battery 86 of appropriate voltage. This frame 88, similar to, but smaller than frame 80 of FIG. 6, may be permanently or removably mounted in a crystal such as 16 of FIGS. 1-5. In this embodiment, the battery 86 may also be removably mounted on frame 88 by two suitable spring clips 90 and 92. A strip electrode 94 is anchored at 96 to the frame 88 and presses down on the electrode 98 of the battery 96, see particularly FIG. 8. When the battery is mounted in position by urging it along a line indicated by arrow 104,

the strip electrode 94 is spring-biased to contact battery 102.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. An illuminatable crystal comprising a transparent crystal for a dial, said crystal having an outer surface and an inner surface, means for producing a light mounted on said inner surface, a source of energy for said light-producing means, means for connecting the light to the source of energy and switch means operable from the outside the inner surface of said crystal for selectively connecting the source of energy to the light producing means, all three components being small compared to the total area of the crystal and being mounted along the periphery of the crystal.

2. In combination with a crystal and with a dial, said crystal having an outer surface and an inner surface spaced from the dial, a frame mountable on the inner surface of said crystal, and means for producing a light, a source of energy for said light-producing means,

means for connecting the light to the source of energy, and switch means operable from the outer surface of said crystal, and means for selectively connecting the source of energy to the light producing means mounted on said frame, all three components being mounted on said crystal.

3. The combination of claim 2 further including means for mounting the frame on the inside surface of the crystal.

4. The illuminatable crystal of claim 1 wherein the means for electrically connecting the source of energy to the light-producing means is movable against a spring tension to make the electrical connection.

5. An illuminatable crystal as in claim 1 wherein said means for producing a light comprises a lamp, said source of energy comprises at least one battery, and said operable means comprises a button-type switch extending outwardly from the outer surface of the crystal and operable to connect the battery to the lamp when depressed.

6. An illuminatable crystal comprising a transparent crystal for a dial, said crystal having an outer surface and an inner surface, a peripheral flange integrally formed with the crystal projecting to one side with its outer edge terminating in a plane spaced from the inner surface of the dial, means for producing a light mounted on said inner surface of said crystal, a source of energy for said light-producing means, means for connecting the light to the source of energy and switch means operable from outside the inner surface of said crystal for selectively connecting the source of energy to the light-producing means, all three components being small compared to the total area of the crystal and being mounted along the periphery of the crystal in the space between the plane of the perimeter of the flange and the inner surface of the crystal.

. it k I: s 

1. An illuminatable crystal comprising a transparent crystal for a dial, said crystal having an outer surface and an inner surface, means for producing a light mounted on said inner surface, a source of energy for said light-producing means, means for connecting the light to the source of energy and switch means operable from the outside the inner surface of said crystal for selectively connecting the source of energy to the light producing means, all three components being small compared to the total area of the crystal and being mounted along the periphery of the crystal.
 2. In combination with a crystal and with a dial, said crystal having an outer surface and an inner surface spaced from the dial, a frame mountable on the inner surface of said crystal, and means for producing a light, a source of energy for said light-producing means, means for connecting the light to the source of energy, and switch means operable from the outer surface of said crystal, and means for selectively connecting the source of energy to the light producing means mounted on said frame, all three components being mounted on said crystal.
 3. The combination of claim 2 further including means for mounting the frame on the inside surface of the crystal.
 4. The illuminatable crystal of claim 1 wherein the means for electrically connecting the source of energy to the light-producing means is movable against a spring tension to make the electrical connection.
 5. An illuminatable crystal as in claim 1 wherein said means for producing a light comprises a lamp, said source of energy comprises at least one battery, and said operable means comprises a button-type switch extending outwardly from the outer surface of the crystal and operable to connect the battery to the lamp when depressed.
 6. An illuminatable crystal comprising a transparent crystal for a dial, said crystal having an outer surface and an inner surface, a peripheral flange integrally formed with the crystal projecting to one side with its outer edge terminating in a plane spaced from the inner surface of the dial, means for producing a light mounted on said inner surface of said crystal, a source of energy for said light-producing means, means for connecting the light to the source of energy and switch means operable from outside the inner surface of said crystal for selectively connecting the source of energy to the light-producing means, all three components being small compared to the total area of the crystal and being mounted along the periphery of the crystal in the space between the plane of the perimeter of the flange and the inner surface of the crystal. 